Valerie Dalton
Meet Carla
By Carla Beck
Jul 2, 2008 - 10:51:57 AM

My name is Carla Beck and I am “Angel.”  Last summer, I shared my story of recovery from schizophrenia with you in order to educate you about my illness and to reduce the stigma surrounding brain disorders.  At that time, I chose to write under the pseudonym Angel, but today I’ve decided to come out of the consumer closet.  After hearing Larry Fricks, Vice President of Peer Services, Depression, and Bipolar Support Alliance, quote John McKnight  at  the Virginia Organization for Consumers Asserting Leadership (VOCAL) conference, I made the decision to reveal my identity with the hope of making a more significant impact in reducing stigma.  The quote by Dr. McKnight was: “Revolutions begin when people who are defined as problems achieve the power to redefine the problem.”  By sharing my identity and story with you, I am saying, “I am not the problem, but part of the solution.”

Stigmatization and discrimination of the mentally ill discourages individuals from getting the help they need and negatively impacts the recovery process.  Stigma is what kept my family from getting the help my brother needed.  Tragically, at the age of thirteen, he committed suicide.  Stigma also kept my family from healing from this tremendous loss.  One way I am fighting stigma is by participating in the Firewalkers project.  

A project of VOCAL, the Firewalkers project will share the stories of how seven people’s lives have been transformed by mental illness.  By doing this, we want to get across the message that people with mental illness are not strangers to be feared.  Many people believe that the mentally ill are violent.  Studies have shown that people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent than the general population.  In fact, we are more likely to be victims of violence than the general population.  My father, who also had a mental illness, showed up on my doorstep several times, having been beaten up and robbed on the streets.  Because of his mental illness, for which he did not seek treatment, he was an easy target.  

The Firewalkers project will be used as an educational tool in classrooms, medical schools, college orientation programs, mental health programs, and other settings.  I am proud to be a part of a book that will shed a different light on mental illness.  As another Firewalker said, “I hope this will cause a cultural change in the way we are viewed.”  

Fighting stigma and spreading the message of hope and recovery are something I am very passionate about.  Another way I have chosen to fight this battle is by writing to radio stations and record labels to let them know of my displeasure and disappointment with the negative labels that are being used in lyrics to describe persons with mental illness.  Many of these songs are being listened to by college kids and for many of them, this is the age when mental illness is triggered for the first time.  When I hear these songs, I get frustrated because we should be doing everything we can to reduce stigma, not increase it.  But then I remember a quote my mom gave me: “To move mountains, we must first begin with pebbles.”   

I hope my story will inspire you in some way to fight stigma and discrimination.  Together we can become the solution!

This column is for informational purposes only.  Clinical issues should be directed to a licensed clinician or your physician.  Valerie Dalton, M.Ed. is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a private practice serving adolescents and adults.  For more information about her counseling and consulting services, please call 743-7736 or visit www.valeriedaltonlpc.com.

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